Nightmares
by Ryoukko-kai
Summary: Even someone as strong as Hiei has nightmares.  Kurama thinks about this, and has an interesting discussion with the fire demon when he awakens.  Oneshot


Kurama watched with mixed curiosity and worry as the small fire demon tossed and turned, his face contorted in apparent pain. His arms strained against invisible bonds that seemed all-too-real to Hiei. Although even the fiercest of fires couldn't cause the younger demon to so much as flinch, sweat covered his face in beads. His dream was troubling him beyond simple worries. This was something severe, the fox apparition was certain. Hiei trembled slightly, and every now and then he thrashed wildly, still pinned down by those imaginary restraints. He bucked as though trying to throw off an opponent, and every now and then he gasped in pain. Kurama was sure that Hiei, strong though he was, was caught firmly by the teeth of a nightmare.

He quietly watched on, saying nothing. It was not his place to intrude upon Hiei's dreams, no matter how painful they may have been. Although the redhead had made it his job to know everything about everyone, he knew better than to bother Hiei without good reason. The proud demon would not have liked knowing that someone had seen him in a moment of weakness.

Hiei cried out, screaming in sheer agony. The yôko winced, looking over at his other two sleeping comrades, worried that Hiei's yells would wake them. Mercifully, the only sounds from the others were Kuwabara's ground-shaking snores and Yusuke's occasional sleep-talking. He turned to look at the sleeping youkai again.

His breathing was ragged, and the shaky sound grated on Kurama's sensitive ears. It was not so much the noise it made; he had heard far worse in his thousand plus years of life. No, it was the knowledge that this was the powerful fire demon that had become his best friend reduced to such a pitiful state. His pain, physical and mental, bothered the fox apparition.

Observant as he was, Kurama could see that Hiei's Jagan eye was squinched tightly shut; it was something he noticed even through the headband, and it was quite odd. The small demon usually kept it open during sleep, watching over him, in a wary caution that bordered on paranoia. This must've been worse than the former bandit thought for the fire demon to have abandoned even his customary defense.

He howled with pain, and Kurama could feel the increase in temperature even from where he was standing. Hiei had a habit of upping the temperature around him in fits of emotion. The heat by Hiei must have been unbearable.

"What are you dreaming of?" he quietly asked, not expecting a reply.

"Yukina!" he yelled, surprising Kurama. For a second, he believed that his soft words had roused the sleeping apparition, but a cursory glance showed that he was still slumbering, those wide crimson eyes of his closed.

It had gone too far. Hiei was being far too loud, and he would surely wake even Yusuke, who had slept clear through the first three matches of the Dark Tournament. On that occasion, thousands of demon fans had been screaming for his blood, and the buzz of energy weapons and the roar of flame made the noise almost unbearable for the sharp-hearing Kurama. Even fireworks had gone off, and still nothing had awakened Yusuke. The green-eyed youkai prodded the small demon in the side with his toe.

Those scarlet orbs snapped open, and he bolted upright, sweat rolling off of him. He gasped for breath, and worriedly brought his hand up to his forehead, gently touching his third eye. Kurama watched with interest as Hiei undid his headband, opening the eye, probably to exercise his sore eyelid. It had been shut awfully tightly after all. He squirmed slightly, clutching his head as if he had a headache. In seconds, he realized that Kurama was watching him, and he turned to look at the yôko.

"What?" he demanded.

"You were screaming," Kurama calmly replied. "You could have woken up the others."

Hiei glared, although the fact that his bangs were plastered to his head with sweat and that most of his body was covered by his cloak (it made a great makeshift blanket) did little to increase the intimidation factor. Kurama would not have been unnerved anyway; he knew Hiei too well to be disarmed by just a glance.

"What were you dreaming of?" the fox demon asked, although he was fairly sure that he already knew the answer.

"It's none of your business," the fire youkai snarled.

Kurama squatted down next to him, now at eye level with the feisty apparition.

"It's this, isn't it?" he pressed, gently laying a finger on Hiei's now-closed Jagan.

He grabbed Kurama's wrist, violently pushing his hand away. Kurama, though, could feel how loose Hiei's usually viselike grip was, and the slight quiver in the fire demon's muscles belied his vicious gaze.

"No!" he growled.

That was all the answer the redhead needed.

"Was it really that painful? I can imagine. Whoever did this had to have cut out a chunk of your _brain_. Were you perhaps a genius beforehand?" he continued, unaffected by those twin points of fire boring into his emerald eyes.

He snarled in a feral way, choosing not to answer. Kurama noticed that the temperature had increased again; he was sweating, even on this chilly night.

His bottle-green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I could consider this an attack," he warned, matching Hiei's angry stare with his own cold one.

"I don't care," the fire demon replied.

"Think rationally, Hiei. I know you better than any, and if you think that you can deceive me, you are sorely mistaken."

Hiei blinked, considering his options, Kurama knew. He could either try to keep this up, or he could just tell the truth. Both would eventually involve him telling the truth, and right now he wasn't in the mood for the lying-probing game the yôko often played, where Hiei usually ended up revealing more than he wanted.

"No genius," he said. "The surgeon was skillful enough to keep my brain intact, for the most part. I can't remember much. It was just excruciating pain, flashes of white, and the constant sound of my own screams. I don't think you need to hear anymore."

Kurama didn't agree.

"Is it still troubling you?"

Hiei said nothing, merely wiping his forehead off on the corner of his cloak-blanket.

"Hiei," he threatened, and the black-haired demon was vividly reminded of Deadly Vetch plant that had ripped Roto apart from the inside out. He knew that that was Kurama's intent, to pressure him into talking with vague threats, but it couldn't hurt to answer the question. Hiei was no pacifist, but he knew when best to avoid a fight.

"Yes," he admitted.

Kurama nodded.

"Tell me—what could motivate you to do this? What could cause you to want the Jagan eye, a process that gives you nightmares even now?" he asked, although he was almost certain that he knew. Kurama left nothing to guesswork when it could be avoided, though, and right now Hiei was in no position to argue back, despite his spitfire attitude. That very same attitude had gotten him in so much trouble; regardless of this, Kurama still admired it.

The heat increased another notch. Sitting this close to Hiei was like being near a blacksmith's forge.

"Stop this," the fox demon ordered, voice sharp.

Hiei growled, ruby eyes narrowed to slits. Forget avoiding a fight!

"I'm stronger than you, fox. Don't try to command me."

Inwardly, the redhead snarled. He may have respected Hiei's courage, but that did not justify it in his mind. He had more self-restraint than to attack the younger youkai, or even to snap at him, but he was still angry. Words had just as much bite as a sword, if used properly, though, so he didn't have to attack. He'd punish the fire demon for his temerity.

"I'm smarter than you, dragon. Don't try to threaten me."

Hiei seethed at that, unable to deny Kurama's logic. Unconsciously, he cranked the temperature up another notch, not enjoying being backed this close to a corner.

It was sweltering. While Hiei had recovered from his dream and looked fine, no longer flushed, sweat poured off of the yôko. The air was hard to breathe, it was so hot.

"Hiei!" he chastised. "Stop this. It's too hot!"  
"Then don't play with fire," he hissed. Kurama could see anger dancing in those transfixing scarlet eyes.

"Ah, but to play with fire would be to suggest that I treated it as nothing but a toy. I knew better than to play—I duel. I duel with this fire, and know it to be my peer."

Hiei smirked.

"A duel you won't win," he stated.

"I do not underestimate you, Hiei. You would do well to not underestimate me."

"Who said I did?"

_You did, Hiei,_ the fox apparition thought, _with your expressions, your infliction, and your stance. Arrogance, despite being my own drawback, is something you will pay for in the long run._

"It was a warning, nothing more," he replied, brushing it away. "Now, would you turn down the heat? I'm afraid that not all of us are heat resilient."

Hiei made no move, to drop the temperature to a more tolerable level or to increase it. Kurama hadn't expected anything other than that from Hiei, though, and he had planned accordingly.

"Turn down the heat," he threatened, his unspoken "Or else" more unnerving than any definite threat. Once again the image of Roto's demise came to mind.

In stubborn defiance, Hiei tapped more fully into his impressive, fiery aura, and it only heightened the temperature. Shimmering from the heat, the night air was barely breathable.

Shrugging it off, Kurama gently lay two fingers on the fire demon's Jagan eye, which he had closed a fraction of a second before contact. Hiei's incredible speed, speed that allowed him to run so fast that he appeared as but a blur, had helped him again.

"Turn it down or I grow the bamboo sprig concealed in the cuff of my sleeve and forever blind this eye you went through so much pain to get," he lay out.

The furnace-like heat obediently dissipated, although it took a second or two, lingering to relay Hiei's message: _I'll do it now, but rest assured that your own emerald eyes would be pierced with my blade should you try. Is your vision worth my telepathy?_

The barely perceptible narrowing of the yôko's eyes and the slight smile that spread over his face, a killer's smile, answered that. _Who said I'd stop with just your eye? We've already determined that it's dangerously close to your brain._

The continued calm, fearless look in Hiei's blood-red eyes assured Kurama that Hiei would make his move the second he felt the fox's aura flare up, and that one could also reach the brain through normal eyes.

A true smile played over Kurama's lips, and his eyebrows rose in a silent _touché._

The ebony-haired youkai nodded almost imperceptibly.

_Touché indeed._

Kurama removed his fingers from the closed third eye, glad that both had reaffirmed where they stood with each other. They were best friends, but the power struggle between the two could be deadly to any caught in the middle, never mind to each other. Both had a healthy respect for their best friend, and, at the same time, their greatest enemy, for neither was truly sure that they could go through with carving out the other's heart. An enemy that they could not kill was great indeed.

"So, Hiei, why _did_ you get the Jagan?" he asked, tone considerably more pleasant than it had been mere minutes ago.

"Personal reasons," he evasively replied, closing the discussion.

Kurama accepted it; he hadn't honestly expected the younger demon to answer.

"I suppose you should take watch now," he spoke, assuring Hiei that the conversation was not over, merely postponed to a later date.

"I suppose so," he agreed, reminding Kurama that he knew that nothing was ever over with the yôko until it had worked out in the fox demon's favor.

"Wake Yusuke in two hour's time," the redhead murmured. Knowing that he wouldn't see Hiei until the next morning, he added "Sweet dreams."

Hiei nodded, silently accepting Kurama's words and bestowing the same upon him.

With all that had been said—or, more importantly, understood—both were content that the other was fine and that the scales of power had again been balanced, for the meantime, at least. There would be no more nightmares tonight.


End file.
